Jake Pavelka claims that competing on Dancing with the Stars was "tremendously hard" on his relationship with Vienna Girardi.

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"It wasn't the grueling schedule; it was the fact that they didn't ask her to do it, that it happened to me and not her. She was really wrapped around the axle that it wasn't her, and I was sensitive to that," Pavelka told People in a cover-story interview in the magazine's July 5 issue.

"But it's like, I wanted you to support me, not pummel me every time I came home because the world wasn't revolving around you 24/7. I tried to include her in any way I possibly could in anything that I've done."

The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love couple issued a statement confirming their split on Monday night, and Pavelka reiterated Girardi's jealousy over his Dancing with the Stars participation played a major role in their break-up in an interview broadcast on Extra on Thursday.

"Fame changes people," he said.

"She feels like Dancing with the Stars should have been hers, but in my view, I felt like it was ours. She started to get insanely jealous over these wonderful things that were happening in life, and they directly affected her. I saw her frustrations, so I tried to include her in everything I did."

Pavelka added one of the ways he tried to include her was by performing with her during Dancing with the Stars live tenth-season finale.

"Have you ever seen anybody who's not competed on the show dance in the finale ever? I wanted her to feel included," he told People. "That was me just trying to express my love to her."

Pavelka presented his final rose and a marriage proposal to Girardi -- and she accepted both during March's The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love finale broadcast, which filmed last fall.

"As a byproduct of The Bachelor, wonderful things start to happen," he told People. "You get to meet people, things like Dancing with the Stars and Drop Dead Diva. And I started getting lots of pressure from her."

While the couple subsequently told reporters after the finale that they "definitely" would wed, Pavelka said the pressure from Girardi was "not to get married."

"Vienna hasn't begun her career yet. She was watching these doors fly open for me, and it was causing an intense amount of jealousy," he explained to People.

"I took a lot of criticism over Drop Dead Diva [from Girardi]: 'Are you actually going to do something like that?' That's coming from somebody that should support me."

Girardi's stepmom has claimed that the only reason Pavelka presented his final rose to her was because she's a "dramatic" person and other sources have claimed he felt Girardi would increase his star power -- which he denied.

"Her accusation of me being with her to get publicity -- I was with her because I was in love with her. I can't identify her motives," Pavelka told People.

"I think it was jealousy that killed us. I can't call Steven Spielberg and say, 'Hey, put her in your new movie.' It seemed to me fame is basically what she was after in the end."

After the two got engaged, Pavelka said the couple was "trying to work on some issues" and claims he was more than willing to leave Tinseltown to save the relationship.

"I went on The Bachelor to find love with very pure intentions. Regardless of what everybody said, I met a girl that I fell in love with. My heart told me we were good to go," he told People

"I said to her, 'Vienna, let's move out of L.A.. Let's not do the back-and-forth thing to Dallas. Let's move to Florida. Would that help?' I was trying to meet her in the middle. But at this point in her life, she's not real sure what she wants."

In addition, Pavelka accused Girardi of "not contributing anything" to their relationship.

"She didn't work; she wasn't looking for a job," he told People.

"I told her, 'If you want to go to med school, law school, whatever... you made great grades in college, and I will pay for it.' She wanted to be in entertainment, but she wasn't doing the necessary things to get there."

As a result, Pavelka said it "felt like a big load" he was carrying financially.

"It's not my place as a fiance to financially support somebody. It's been a lack of respect and support on her part," he told People. "It wears on you when you're a guy having to support your fiancee who's very capable of going out and creating success."

The couple confirmed their split after Greek actor Gregory Michael said Girardi told him she was single and no longer with Pavelka when they met while attending a children's hospital prom near Los Angeles on Saturday. 

Girardi and Michael were subsequently seen kissing at a Santa Monica public beach party event on Sunday.
Pavelka said there were some "trust issues" and a "lot of red flags" in his relationship with Girardi and said the infidelity allegations played a "factor" in their split, which Pavelka claims he initiated (Girardi disagrees and claims that she dumped Pavelka).

"I'm not stupid and I'm not going to tolerate it. And I'm not going to be in a relationship that I don't fully trust," he told People. "It's not pointing in a good direction as far as infidelity, but right now I can't prove it. I don't know when and if I can... but right now I don't trust her."

Pavelka said he ended things with Girardi over the phone since she was in Los Angeles while he was in Atlanta filming his guest appearance on Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva.

"I was a pretty inopportune time," he admitted to People.

Prior to appearing as one of Jillian Harris' bachelors during The Bachelorette's fifth season last summer, Pavelka had had a modest acting career when when he was younger -- including an appearance on Walker, Texas Ranger in 1999 when he played a young version of the show's title character.

"I've got some really interesting things acting-wise coming down the pipeline. Acting was something I did as a kid, and I'd thought I hung it up," he told People.

"I'm going to just enjoy life as much as I can."

Pavelka also said he's currently single but is hoping he can still find a future wife.

"I was accused at one point of being desperate. Yes, I think anybody that wants to get married is desperate to marry the right person, not just simply walk down the aisle with anybody," he told People.

"I want to get married, but I want to marry the right girl."


About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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